Salmon Cakes
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Made from fresh salmon and dill, these salmon cakes are as elegant as crab cakes but so much more affordable to make.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
When I told my friend and Once Upon a Chef right hand, Betsy Goldstein, about these salmon cakes, she said, “Hmmm…I think I’ll wait until some of the reviews roll in to try those.” I laughed because I knew she was thinking of the version made from canned salmon that many of us grew up on. I promise: these are a whole different animal. Made from fresh raw salmon and seasoned with Old Bay, they’re as elegant as crab cakes yet so much more affordable to make. What’s more, they can be made entirely ahead of time and reheated.
I love these salmon cakes for brunch over a green salad with vinaigrette, but they also make a delicious dinner alongside rice pilaf and roasted asparagus. Either way, they are wonderful with my easy homemade tartar sauce.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Salmon Cakes
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, finely dice the salmon into 1/4-inch pieces (or smaller). It’s important that the pieces are not too large or the cakes won’t bind together easily.
Set the salmon aside and, in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper.
Whisk to combine.
Add the diced salmon, ¼ cup of the panko, the scallions, the celery, and the dill.
Gently mix until uniformly combined.
Place the remaining 1 cup of panko in a shallow dish or pie plate.
Using a 1/3-cup measure, scoop the salmon mixture and form into a compact cake about 1 inch high. Place the salmon cake into the reserved panko and gently coat it all over in crumbs.
Repeat with the remaining mixture to form about 9 cakes. (At this point, you can refrigerate the cakes for up to a few hours before cooking, if you’d like.)
Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the salmon cakes in the skillet and cook without moving until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Carefully flip the cakes and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium if the cakes are browning too quickly.
Transfer cakes to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining cakes (no need to change the oil).
Serve warm with tartar sauce and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Salmon Cakes
Made from fresh salmon and dill, these salmon cakes are as elegant as crab cakes but so much more affordable to make.
Ingredients
For the Salmon Cakes
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1¼ lb skinless salmon fillet, finely diced into ¼-inch pieces (see note)
- 1¼ cups panko bread crumbs, divided
- ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, from 3 to 4 scallions, light and dark green parts
- ⅓ cup finely diced celery, from 2 stalks
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- Salad greens with vinaigrette, tartar sauce and/or lemon wedges, for serving (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper. Add the diced salmon, ¼ cup of the panko, the scallions, the celery, and the dill. Gently mix until uniformly combined.
- Place the remaining 1 cup of panko in a shallow dish or pie plate. Using a ⅓-cup measure, scoop the salmon mixture and form into a compact cake about 1 inch high. Place the salmon cake into the panko and gently coat it all over in crumbs. Repeat with the remaining mixture to form about 9 cakes. (At this point, you can refrigerate the salmon cakes for a few hours until ready to cook, if you'd like.)
- Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place half of the salmon cakes in the skillet and cook without moving until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the cakes and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium if the cakes are browning too quickly. Transfer cakes to paper towel–lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining cakes (no need to change the oil). Serve warm.
- Note: If buying a skin-on salmon fillet, purchase 1⅓ pounds of fish to yield 1¼ pounds of fish after skinning.
- Make-Ahead: The salmon cakes can be fully cooked and refrigerated up to several hours ahead of time. To reheat: preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the salmon cakes in the oven and cook until crisp on the exterior and warm throughout, 10 to 15 minutes. The cakes may also be frozen for up to 3 months; defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked salmon cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once cool, lay them out on one (or more) foil-lined baking sheet(s) and cover them loosely with plastic wrap. Freeze the patties in a single layer for about an hour, then remove them from the freezer. Wrap the cakes individually in plastic wrap and then put them together in a freezer bag or airtight container. Before serving, defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 salmon cake
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 14 g
- Sodium: 222 mg
- Cholesterol: 37 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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If using dried dill.. how much would you use?
You’ll need about 2 teaspoons. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn… I have made so many of your recipes and they are always a big hit at our house. I want to make your Salmon Cakes and I was wondering if I could bake them in my oven instead of frying them?
Hi Siobhan, I like these best pan-fried, but you can get away with cooking them in the oven. I’d use a combination of baking and broiling; bake them in a 350-degree oven on a lightly greased baking sheet for about twenty minutes, or until hot (and it’s not necessary to flip them), then slide them under the broiler for about a minute to get them golden brown on top. Enjoy!
Love this recipe! Wondering if I can make it in a loaf pan?
So glad you like it! Technically, it will work to make it in a loaf pan, but I think you’ll miss the crispy exterior of the pan-fried cakes. Hope that helps!
Our family loves this recipe. We have had it several times since I discovered it and I have already reviewed it once (5 stars all the way). However, I felt compelled to return to share what I did with the leftovers this time around in case others are looking for a way to mix it up. We usually just reheat in the oven and eat them as cakes. Today, though, I put some bacon in the oven and slowly reheated the cakes on a lightly oiled skillet med-low heat, flipping a couple times to protect the panko from burning. I sliced a tomato as thinly as I could and tore up some arugula. I spread mayo on 2 slices of fairly thick bread and after resting the bacon on paper towels, I stacked the tomato on one slice of bread and lightly salted it. Placed the bacon on top of that, followed by the salmon cake (broken up a bit to fit the bread), topped that with the torn arugula and the other slice of bread. This “blt” was the best sandwich I have EVER had.
Oh my gosh, Shannon — that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I loved these cakes and left a 5 star review. One question. I am gluten free and used gluten free panko. I know from experience it is not a great product; even though I have tried a couple of brands, it’s always heavy and flavorless – not a great substitute. I have made salmon cakes previously using cornmeal for the binder and coating. Do you think it would work here? Or mix cornmeal and GF flour? I think I have seen GF matzoh meal too? Any other suggestions?
Glad you liked them! Honestly, I don’t think any of those alternatives would work very well – I’m sorry! For the best results with consistency, I’d stick with the GF panko.
I am avoiding grains, so I substituted the bread crumbs with pork rinds which I placed in a strong plastic bag and smashed to smithereens with a rolling pin. I measured out 1-1/4 cups and proceeded with the recipe as written. It was delicious!
Totally delicious moist and tender – much better texture than the ones made before with canned or cooked leftover salmon. One recommendation: I don’t care for dill and I have a recipe for salmon cakes with a Thai taste which I used to make. So tasty and full of flavor! I cut the salt in 1/2 and added 1 TB fish sauce, dropped the dill and added Thai red curry paste, I used 1 TB but that might be too much for some. It was fabulous and I could have added chopped fresh cilantro if I’d had some. Next time I will.
I have never reviewed a recipe before – ever, but I had to review this one. These salmon cakes are wonderful! They are light, refreshing, and oh so easy. I have used Ina Garten’s recipe for years, but these are sooooo much better and simpler. I used the frozen atlantic salmon from Costco and served with a dill sauce. Perfection!
SO delicious! The dill, chives, and celery paired so perfectly with the salmon, and used a food processor to make chopping easier. I used Cucumber Tzatziki (from Trader Joes) instead of tartar sauce!
Hi Ms. Segal
I made these salmon cakes 2 weeks ago and they were delicious; I was a bit short on the salmon; I had some large frozen sea scallops, I chopped them up and added them to the salmon, yummy.
I’m a big fan of your recipes it’s always fresh, new, simple and delicious. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Made these last night. My husband was not thrilled about the idea of salmon cakes, but he ended up going back for seconds and praising them. There was even a high five involved. I was sure to remove the bloodline (as I always do when serving salmon) because although it is perfectly safe to eat, I didn’t want the stronger flavor to affect the experience. The recipe says to use a non-stick skillet. I just threw all of my non-stick cookware away, so I used my heavy bottom stainless steel and it was fine. They didn’t stick at all. The celery, scallions and old bay all blended beautifully and the panko helped it not feel so heavy. Perfect meal to end a beach day hunting for seashells on the Cape with our 4 years old daughter (she also loved the cakes). Thank you for the recipe!